Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 x 1 Hour Lectures |
| Seminar | 11 x 2 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word essay | 40% |
| Semester Assessment | Seminar performance | 10% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours (1 x 2 hour) pre-seen paper Pre-seen examination | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word essay | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 1,000 word assignment in lieu of seminar performance | 10% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours (1 x 2 hour exam) pre-seen | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
• Demonstrate an understanding of the complexity and diversity of debates and terms in referring to the Third World, the South, the less developed countries and the developing world, among other titles.
• Criticize the Western notion of development and its implications for the developing world;
• Assess the changing nature of global politics with reference to the non-Western states and societies;
• Analyze the production of cultural understandings and representations of societies beyond the West;
• Engage with normative questions about how and whether relations between the so-called developed and developing worlds should be changed or restructured.
• Explain alternative knowledges and alternative ways of 'making sense' of politics in non-Western states and societies
Brief description
The module challenges the Eurocentric grand narratives of international politics by studying the interconnectedness of the West and the non-Western worlds, engaging with marginalized issues and voices. In particular, students are introduced to not only a critique of state-centric and Eurocentric IR and its implications for the non-Western worlds, but will also study key issues and themes such as colonialism, culture, development, gender, identity, inequality, race, religion, resistance and social movements. The capacity to think about power relations from different non-Western perspectives equips students with important transferable skills such as critical analysis and writing.
Aims
The main aim of this module is to turn the orthodox study of international politics on its head by introducing students to alternative ways of ‘making sense’ of politics in non-Western states and societies. Its objectives are to critically examine power and knowledge production in IR in order to identify the constitutive role played by the bifurcated view of the world order; to explore the Western notion of development and its implications for the rest of the world; to understand the complexity and diversity of debates and issues in referring to the rest of the world as the Third World, the global South, the less developed countries and the developing world, among others; to analyze the production of cultural understandings and representations of societies beyond the West, and explain religious, ethnic and national conflicts in particular. We then engage with the concepts of fair trade as an alternative to free trade and failed states to challenge the orthodox explanation of the relationship between states and markets in a global age.
Content
Week 2 – Theories of Development
Week 3 – Postcolonial Development
Week 4 – Failed states
Week 5 – Ethno-politics and nationalism
Week 6 – Culture and religion
Week 7 – Gender and women
Week 8 – Fair Trade
Week 9 – Environmental issues
Week 10 – Conclusions
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | N/A |
| Communication | Students will learn how to present their ideas both verbally and in writing and how to present their arguments most effectively. They will learn the importance of information and clear communication and how to exploit these. They will know how to use the many sources of information available and how to use the most appropriate form of communication to best advantage. They will learn to be clear in their writing and speaking and to be direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of their argument or discussion. Students will also be required to submit their written assessments in word-processed format and the presentation of work should reflect effective expression of ideas and good use of language skills in order to ensure clarity, coherence and effective communication. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | The module aims to promote self-management but within a context in which support and assistance is available from both the module convenor and fellow students alike. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and exercising their own initiative, including searching for sources and deciding (under guidance) the direction of their coursework and presentation topics. |
| Information Technology | Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format, via the on-line platform Blackboard. Also, students will be encouraged to search for sources of information on the web, as well as seeking sources through electronic information sources. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | This module is designed to hone and test skills of use to students in their working lives, particularly in speaking to small groups, listening, thinking and responding to the statement of others. Moreover, the written work includes writing clearly and concisely, which is a common task in the workplace. Students will be encouraged throughout to reflect on their performance and to consider lessons for future application. |
| Problem solving | Independent work and problem solving will be one central goal of the module; the submission of a range of study skills assessments will require that students develop independent research skills as well as problem solving skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and formulate an answer to the problem; reason logically; construct theoretical arguments; divide issues into smaller problems. |
| Research skills | Students will be required to undertake independent research for elements of the assessed work. This will involve utilizing a range of information sources, including core academic texts. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of subject specific skills that help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and ideas on the module. These subject specific skills include: • Collect and understand a wide range of data relating to the module • Evaluate competing perspectives • Apply a range of methodologies to complex historical and contemporary political problems. |
| Team work | Students will undertake team exercises in the seminars. For many of the topics of this module, seminars will consist of small-group discussions where students will be asked to discuss as a group the core issues related to the seminar topic. These class discussions and debates form a significant part of the module, and will allow students to approach and examine a given topic through team work. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6